The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Kicking off the Jewish New Year with zip and tzimmis
New Year’s food with the tzimmis
Rosh Hashana, often called the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown Sunday. It marks the start of the year in the Hebrew calendar and the beginning of the High Holy Days. These holidays fall on different days each year because the Jewish calendar is a lunar one. Did you know that Rosh Hashana begins 163 days after the spring holiday of Passover?
Unlike Dec. 31, when many celebrate with parties and drinking, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are the holiest days in the Jewish religion. The similarity of all holiday celebrations is food and, no matter what religion or culture, food has a symbolic meaning and provokes fond memories of childhood. The Jewish High Holidays are about reflection, and family and friends sharing meals. Apples dipped in honey symbolize a sweet new year. Pomegranates, filled with seeds, are eaten and symbolize that the New Year will hopefully be filled with merits.
Comfort food is sometimes thought of as being analogous to dishes served on the Jewish holidays; actually, any holiday meal. And what comes to mind when we think of comfort food: hearty and rich, perhaps with too much fat, salt and sugar. After reading “The Healthy Jewish Kitchen: Fresh, Contemporary Recipes for Every Occasion,” by Paula Shoyer (2017, Sterling Epicure, $24.95), you will be celebrating the Sweetness of the New Year with delicious, yet healthy recipes. She has taken favorite Jewish holiday comfort foods and reimagines them, more modern and lighter. The recipes utilize fresh, natural and seasonal ingredients, with many that are gluten-free and vegan, allowing anyone to enjoy the holidays without guilt.
The book features more than 80 recipes and includes Jewish classics as well as American and international trends that extend beyond the Jewish culinary world. Some of the recipes included: borscht, mango coleslaw, watermelon, peach, and mint gazpacho, salmon tartare (an alternative to gefilte fish), brisket Bourguignon, red quinoa meatballs with spaghetti squash, coq au vin blanc and chocolate quinoa cake — which was deemed by well-respected Food52 as a “Genius Recipe” and made by tens of thousands of people worldwide. Here is a recipe with a new twist on a traditional holiday dish, carrot tzimmis, one that I will be preparing, and a recipe for apple, squash, and Brussel sprout salad. For the recipe for caramelized apple strudel, to celebrate the sweetness of life and the New Year, visit https://bit.ly/2BWUhY5.
To all those who celebrate, Shanah Tovah, which means good year!
Tzimmis Purée
The headnote says, “Not to make a whole tzimmis about it (tzimmis being Yiddish for “a big fuss”), but tzimmis, a stew of sweet potatoes, carrots, and dried fruit, is becoming one of those lost and forgotten jewels of Ashkenazi cuisine. I make it every Rosh Hashanah so my children know what it is. Here is my updated version, which truly tastes like my usual tzimmis, but is presented more elegantly as a French purée. I’m planning to serve it on Thanksgiving as well.”
1 tablespoon sunflower or safflower oil
1 medium onion, cut into
1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup dried apricots
1⁄2 teaspoon orange zest (from 1 orange) 1 cinnamon stick
2 cups water
Salt and black pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until translucent and just starting to color. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, carrots, apricots, orange zest, cinnamon stick, and water and bring to a boil. Stir the mixture, cover it, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the carrots and sweet potatoes are soft. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes, covered. Remove the cinnamon stick and use either an immersion blender to purée the mixture until it is smooth, or transfer it to a food processor. Taste the tzimmis and add salt and pepper if desired. Serves 10-12.
Apple, Squash, And Brussels Sprout Salad
11⁄2 pounds Brussels sprouts,
trimmed and halved 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons avocado, sunflower, or safflower oil, divided
3 cups butternut squash, cut
into 1-inch cubes 3 tablespoons maple syrup 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1⁄4 teaspoon allspice 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon water
1 red apple, unpeeled, chopped into 3⁄4-inch pieces 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the prepared Brussels sprouts on one side of a jelly roll or roasting pan and toss with 1 tablespoon of oil. Place the butternut squash cubes on the other side of the pan and toss with 2 teaspoons oil. Roast for 30 minutes, or until fork-tender. Let vegetables cool. Place the roasted vegetables into a large serving bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the maple syrup, garlic, rice vinegar, allspice, cinnamon, and water. Pour over the vegetables and toss well. Add the apple pieces and toss again. Add salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.
What chef would you like me to interview? Which restaurant recipes or other recipes would you like to have? Which food products are you having difficulty finding? Do you have cooking questions? Send them to me: Stephen Fries, professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, at gw-stephen.fries@gwcc. commnet.edu or Dept. FC, Gateway Community College, 20 Church St., New Haven, 06510. Include your full name, address and phone number. (Due to volume, I might not be able to publish every request. For more, go to stephenfries.com.)
CULINARY CALENDAR
“Bistro Classiques”: through Sept. 15. Union League Café, 1032 Chapel St., New Haven. 203-5624299. Celebrate the end of summer with traditional bistro dishes prepared with fresh ingredients from local farms. Three-course pre-fixe menu $74 per person with wine pairings, $49 per person without wine pairings. (Beverages, tax and gratuity not included) Menu at www.unionleaguecafe.com/menu.
BrewOn9: Sept. 7, 6 to 8 p.m. $15 includes crawl map, custom BrewOn9 mini tasting mug, unique food tastings and activity stations at select locations. Registration at Baobab Tree Studios, 71 Orange St., New Haven. Town Green District invites you to pregame the harvest season, crawling through 15 craft brew stops exploring the historic 9th Square neighborhood, enjoying Wine Thief-curated pours, select food tastings and beer-related crafts and activities. Some stops include Barcade, Skappo Merkato, Amoy’s Cajun Creole, The Institute Library, Makehaven, Meat & Co. While they are not open for business quite yet, Trinity Bar & Restaurant will host a stop that evening at its outdoor patio area. $5 parking at Temple Street Garage all night when you get your parking pass validated at registration. Tickets at https://bit.ly/2OE9Xl7. Hoptoberfest Beer and Wing Festival: Sept. 8, 1 to 5 p.m., Rotary Pavilion, Riverwalk, 100 Canal St., Shelton, 80+ craft brews and wings from local restaurants. $30 Advance tickets, $40 at the door. Must be 21 years to attend. Tickets at https://bit.ly/2wgxqDg.
Consiglio’s Cooking Demonstration and Dinner: Sept. 13 or 20, 6:30 p.m., Consiglio’s Restaurant, 165 Wooster St., New Haven, 203-865-4489 (reservations required), $75 (beverages, tax and gratuity not included).Pasta Making with Angelo Durante. Menu: farmersmarket pappardelle, tomato, cucumber, red onion, goat cheese, homemade cheese angioletti with meat sauce, chocolate hazelnut biscotti. Tickets at https://bit.ly/2cLo4Wo. Worth Tasting Culinary Walking Tour: Sept. 15, 10:45 a.m., 4-hour culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven. 8-9 stops at some of New Haven’s favorites. You won’t be hungry after this tour. Reservations required, tickets available. 203-4153519, $64. New Haven Craft Beer
Week: Sept. 15-23. This nine-day series kicks off with the Fuzzy Cask Crawl, inviting you to test your taste buds, visiting each location to compare cask variations of New England Brewing Co.’s Fuzzy Baby Duck’s IPA. Pick up your event passport at any of these participating locations: Barcade, Three Sheets, Cask Republic, The Beer Collective, BAR, The Hop Knot, Prime 16, Ordinary. For details: www.craftbeerweeknhv.com. Beer & Oysters on the Sound: Sponsored by the New Haven Land Trust, Sept. 16, 4 to 7 p.m. Carousel at Lighthouse Point Park, 2 Lighthouse Road, New Haven. Beer from a selection of local breweries, Copps Island oysters, live music, food trucks, carousel rides and more. $35 in advance for general admission; $40 at the door. Includes beer tastings from each brewery and six oysters, plus a commemorative pint glass. Age 21+ only. Children and non-drinker tickets available.
Info and tickets at https://bit.ly/2omZHSv.